Vedettes du Pont Neuf review: Seine cruise from Pont Neuf

The company in the center of Paris: a guide on the microphone, a pier between the Louvre and Saint-Germain, and a route that runs the opposite way from the Eiffel Tower piers. To compare it with the others, start with our Seine cruise companies page.

A family business turned small group

The story starts with one man. Émile Azam, who used to sell boats on the Marne, founded the company in 1959 with the Symoun, a 30-seat wooden launch moored at quai du Louvre. In 1967 the building of the Georges-Pompidou expressway pushed him to the tip of Île de la Cité, at Square du Vert-Galant, where the company still is. Then came the Hydraseine, the Europa in 1989, billed as the first fully open boat on the Seine, and the Parisis. After the founder died, his nephew took over; since 2007 the company has also owned Canauxrama, the operator of the Canal Saint-Martin cruises. A new team runs it today, and the company says all its boats have switched to "soft propulsion", electric or hybrid.

The catalogue revolves around one product: the one-hour guided cruise, "the secrets of Paris". Around it you find a snack cruise, a Champagne & Happy Hour cruise, canal cruises with Canauxrama, a cruise-and-bus combo, and holiday dates.

One thing to watch: the dinner cruises sold under the Vedettes du Pont Neuf name do not leave from the Vert-Galant. They run on partner boats, at Pont Alexandre III or opposite the Eiffel Tower. If dinner is what you want, our Seine dinner cruise page compares the companies that actually run them.

Sightseeing

GetYourGuide1 hourPont Neuf

Seine River Sightseeing Guided Cruise Vedettes du Pont Neuf

4.6 (424)

from €17Check dates

Sightseeing

TiqetsPont Neuf

Seine River: Guided Sightseeing Cruise by Vedettes du Pont Neuf

4.4 (37)

from €17Check dates

Combo

GetYourGuide2 hoursPont Neuf

Semi-Private Louvre Guided Tour + Seine Cruise add-on

5.0 (2)

from €139Check dates

Vedettes du Pont Neuf on GetYourGuide →Vedettes du Pont Neuf on Tiqets →Prices checked on October 17, 2026

The route: downstream first, then around the islands

This is the big difference from the Eiffel Tower piers, where boats always start upstream. Here the boat leaves the tip of Île de la Cité and heads downstream first: the Louvre and the Institut de France, the Musée d'Orsay, Place de la Concorde, Pont Alexandre III, all the way to the Eiffel Tower. It turns around, comes back up and then circles the islands: Notre-Dame, Île Saint-Louis, the Hôtel de Ville, before returning to the Vert-Galant. The company sums it up as "from the Louvre to the Eiffel Tower by way of Notre-Dame".

In practice, the Eiffel Tower comes in the middle of the cruise, not at the start or the end. In the evening that matters if you are timing the sparkle (see below). You also set off from under Pont Neuf, which despite its name ("new bridge") is the oldest bridge in Paris (1578–1607), with the equestrian statue of Henri IV on the bridge right above the square.

In an hour you pass under about 20 bridges, not under all of the 37 that Paris has. Which arm of the river you take around Île de la Cité depends on the alternating one-way traffic; the monuments, bank by bank, are on our what you see from the Seine page.

The boats: panoramic, open on top, heated below

The boats are classic panoramic sightseeing boats: an open-air upper deck, where everyone heads as soon as the weather is fine, and a heated cabin below, so they sail all year, by day and by night. All of them have restrooms, and there are more on the pontoon.

The company publishes no reliable capacities: the figures on its own history page contradict each other, so we give none. The group (through Canauxrama) also runs a small electric boat, the Rocca II, and a new events boat, the Lutécia.

Small pets are allowed on the sightseeing cruises, on a leash or in a basket. As for comfort, bring a jacket for the upper deck in the evening, even in summer: you are exposed to the wind the whole way along the river, and yet that is where the photos are taken.

Vedettes du Pont Neuf prices: official site, ticket counter and platforms

On the company's website the guided cruise costs €15 online and €17 on site per adult, and €7 online, €9 on site for ages 4 to 12; under 4s ride free. The company calls this €2 reduction its "web promo": it is the only permanent "promo code" we know of. Groups of ten or more get sliding rates, from about €12 per person.

That is the lowest web fare of the big one-hour cruises (€18 at Bateaux Parisiens and Vedettes de Paris, €17 at Bateaux Mouches). And here the gap runs the other way: the last time we checked, GetYourGuide and Tiqets were selling the cruise at the on-site price, €17, two euros more than the official website. The table updates itself; look at it before you choose.

What a platform can bring is its own cancellation terms, sometimes more flexible than the company's: they depend on the listing and are shown before you pay. Our comparison is on GetYourGuide, Tiqets or Headout, and every company's prices are on our Seine river cruise tickets page.

Booking and boarding: the Pont Neuf staircase

Finding the pier. The address is 1 Square du Vert-Galant, 75001, at the downstream tip of Île de la Cité. You get down to it by the Pont Neuf staircase, which the company compares to two floors. Take Métro Pont Neuf (line 7), Louvre-Rivoli (1) or Cité (4); RER to Châtelet or Saint-Michel; buses 27, 58, 67, 70, 72, 74, 75. Drivers can use the Palais de Justice or Louvre car parks.

In a wheelchair, the company itself writes that getting onto the boat is "difficult". The recommended route is the ramp at 36 quai des Orfèvres, then along the cobbled lower quay to the pier. Call before you come: +33 1 46 33 98 38.

Times. Boats leave every day from 10:30 am, every 30 to 60 minutes depending on the season; the last boat leaves between about 9:30 pm and 10:30 pm, depending on the season. There is no public timetable: the schedule lives in the booking engine. The company warns that sunset and weekend departures fill up.

Cancelling. More than 48 hours ahead, the company refunds 80 %; between 48 and 24 hours, 60 %; less than 24 hours ahead, nothing. Special dates (New Year's Eve, Valentine's Day, Bastille Day) can be neither refunded nor transferred. If the company cancels or the boat is full, it can put you on a later departure, with no right to a refund.

The experience, product by product

The one-hour guided cruise

A live guide, switching between French and English, tells the story of the city from the upper deck; a free app takes over in Spanish, Italian, German, Portuguese, French and English. That is what regulars come here for: a person, not a recording. In the evening there is no separate "night cruise": it is the same cruise at the same price, with the monuments lit up. The Eiffel Tower sparkles for five minutes at the start of every hour after dark, until at least 11 pm; on some evenings, especially in summer, it carries on later — check the tower's website for the day. Since the tower comes about halfway through, a departure around half past the hour gives you the best chance of being in front of it on the hour. Details: Eiffel Tower sparkle.

Snack, champagne and canal cruises

The snack cruise (around €20 online) adds mini doughnuts, a muffin and a hot drink or a juice. Champagne & Happy Hour (around €29 online) serves one drink of your choice, champagne, wine, beer or a soft drink, to a lounge-music soundtrack, with one departure at 7:15 pm and another at sunset (see Seine sunset cruise). On the Canal Saint-Martin, the cruises are run by Canauxrama, from €18 (the 1h15 express; the full crossing from €23): see our Canal Saint-Martin cruise page.

Holiday dates

For New Year's Eve the company sells a one-hour champagne cruise (around €39) and a 1 hour 30 minute midnight cruise (around €69) with a toast facing the Eiffel Tower. For the Bastille Day fireworks evening, a two-hour Champagne & Fireworks cruise leaves the Vert-Galant at 10 pm (around €55), with the mooring spot set by the river authorities. It is all on our Christmas and New Year's Eve page.

Who Vedettes du Pont Neuf suits best

People staying in the center. The Vert-Galant is a few minutes from the Louvre, Saint-Germain and Châtelet: no need to cross Paris to the Eiffel Tower.

Fans of live commentary. A guide who talks to the passengers, in French and English, on a €15 cruise: in our view, the best ratio of price to commentary on the Seine.

Tight budgets and families. A child fare up to and including age 12, as at Bateaux Mouches, and a snack cruise for the hungry.

Skip it if you use a wheelchair or push a big stroller (the stairs), if your date is uncertain (partial refunds only), or if you want live commentary in a language other than French or English. For a live guide with free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead, see Vedettes de Paris; for an audio guide in about 14 languages, Bateaux Parisiens.

The verdict: strengths, weaknesses and our rating

Vedettes du Pont Neuf FAQ